Effect of available volumes on radial distribution functions

The traditional method of analyzing solution structuring properties of solutes using atom–atom radial distribution functions (rdfs) can give rise to misleading interpretations when the volume occupied by the solute is ignored. It is shown by using the examples of O(4) in α- and β-D-allose that a more reliable interpretation of rdfs can be obtained by normalising the rdf using the available volume, rather than the traditional volume of a spherical shell. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 19: 363–367, 1998     

Parallel internally contracted multireference configuration interaction

A parallel implementation of the internally contracted (IC) multireference configuration (MRCI) module of the MOLPRO quantum chemistry program is described. The global array (GA) toolkit has been used in order to map an existing disk-paging small-memory algorithm onto a massively parallel supercomputer, where disk storage is replaced by the combined memory of all processors. This model has enabled a rather complicated code to be ported to the parallel environment without the need for the wholesale redesign of algorithms and data structures. Examples show that the parallel ICMRCI program can deliver results in a fraction of the time needed for equivalent uncontracted MRCI computations. Further examples demonstrate that ICMRCI computations with up to 10⁷ variational parameters, and equivalent to uncontracted MRCI with 10⁹ configurations, are feasible. The largest calculation demonstrates a parallel efficiency of about 80% on 128 nodes of a Cray T3E-300. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 19: 1215–1228, 1998     

Empirical force field and ab initio calculations on allyl cations

Allyl cation geometries optimized using an extended version of MMP2, newly parameterized for localized and delocalized classical cations, compare favorably with those obtained at the MP2(full) /6–31G^* level. Hence, the force field should provide good starting structures for ab initio calculations. The π-electron densities obtained by these two very different methods are quite similar. The relative energies of various isomers at MP4/6–31G^*//MP2(full)/6–31G^* are reproduced well by the force-field calculations. The heats of formation calculated by MMP2, as well as those predicted from the ab initio data, agree with experimentally determined values. The force-field method provides interpretive capabilities. Energy differences between isomers can be separated into electronic and steric contributions, reasonable estimates of resonance energies are given, and nonbonded resonance energies in delocalized cations can be evaluated. The stabilizing 1–3 π-interactions in allyl cations are quite significant, but are reduced by alkyl groups hyperconjugatively and sterically. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Styrene and isoprene friction factors in styrene–isoprene matrices

Monomeric friction factors, Ξ, for polystyrene (PS), polyisoprene (PI), and a polystyrene–polyisoprene (SI) diblock copolymer have been determined as a function of temperature in four poly(styrene-b-isoprene-b-styrene-b-isoprene) tetrablock copolymer matrices. The Rouse model has been used to calculate the friction factors from tracer diffusion coefficients measured by forced Rayleigh scattering. Within the experimental temperature range the tetrablock copolymers are disordered, allowing for measurement of the diffusion coefficient in matrices with average compositions determined by the tetrablock copolymers (23, 42, 60, and 80% styrene by volume). Remarkably, for a given matrix composition the styrene and isoprene friction factors are essentially equivalent. Furthermore, at a constant interval from the system glass transition temperature, T_g, all of the friction factors (obtained from homopolymer, diblock copolymer, and tetrablock copolymer dynamics) agree to within an order of magnitude. This is in marked contrast to results for miscible polymer blends, where the individual components generally have distinct composition dependences and magnitudes at constant T − T_g. The homopolymer friction factors in the tetrablock matrices were systematically slightly higher than those of the diblock, which in turn were slightly higher than those of the homopolymers in their respective melts, when all compared at constant T − T_g. This is attributed to the local spatial distribution of styrene and isoprene segments in the tetrablocks, which presents a nonuniform free energy surface to the tracer molecules. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 36: 3079–3086, 1998     

Theoretical Prediction and Explanation of Reaction Site Selectivity in the Addition of a Phenoxy Group to Perfluoropyrimidine,Perfluoropyridazine, and Perfluoropyrazine

Perfluoroaromatics, such as perfluoropyridine and perfluorobenzene, are privileged synthetic scaffolds in organofluorine methodology, undergoing a series of regioselective substitution reactions with a variety of nucleophiles. This unique chemical behavior allows for the synthesis of many perfluoroaromatic derived molecules with unique and diverse architectures. Recently, it has been demonstrated that perfluoropyridine and perfluorobenzene can be utilized as precursors for a variety of materials, ranging from high performance polyaryl ethers to promising drug scaffolds. In this work, using density functional theory, we investigate the possibility of perfluoropyrimidine, perfluoropyridazine, and perfluoropyrazine participating in similar substitution reactions. We have found that the first nucleophilic addition of a phenoxide group substitution on perfluoropyrimidine and on perfluoropyridazine would happen at a site para to one of the nitrogen atoms. While previous literature points to mesomeric effects as the primary cause of this phenomenon, our work demonstrates that this effect is enhanced by the fact that the transition states for these reactions result in bond angles that allow the phenoxide to π-complex with the electron-deficient diazine ring. The second substitution on perfluoropyrimidine and on perfluoropyridazine is most likely to happen at the site para to the other nitrogen. The second substitution on perfluoropyrazine is most likely to happen at the site para to the first substitution. The activation energies for these reactions are in line with those reported for perfluoropyridine and suggest that these platforms may also be worth investigation in the lab as possible monomers for high performance polymers.     

Kinetics of oxidation and comproportionation reactions involving an oxammonium ion,benzyl alcohol and methyltrioxorhenium(VII)

The reactions of 4‐hydroxy‐2,2,6,6‐tetramethylpiperidinium N‐oxide, an oxammonium ion abbreviated R₂NO⁺, have been studied. The previously unreported triflate salt was used in this study because the anions of the usual chloride and bromide salts can themselves be oxidized. Reactions between R₂NO⁺ and alcohols produce ketones and aldehydes; the rate constant for PhCH₂OH is 4.4 × 10⁻³ L mol⁻¹ s⁻¹ in acetonitrile at 298 K. The immediate product is the hydroxylamine, R₂NOH, but its further comproportionation reaction with R₂NO⁺ yields the stable piperidinyl oxyl radical, R₂NO^·. The rate constant of this reaction is 1.78 × 10³ L mol⁻¹ s⁻¹ at 298 K. The possibility of using R₂NO⁺ and MTO as co‐catalysts for the oxidation of alcohols was explored, but the competitive rates are such that the resultant is not particularly attractive. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 31: 381–385, 1999     

Accurate parametrized variational calculations of the molecular electronic polarizability by NDDO‐based methods

The variational method for the calculation of the electronic polarizability of molecules within the NDDO‐based semiempirical MO methods MNDO, AM1, and PM3 was parametrized to improve its accuracy. A training set of 156 compounds was used to fit 34 parameters simultaneously for 12 elements using a simplex optimization. The resulting parameters were tested for a test set of 83 molecules and the calculated polarizabilities compared with the experimental data. For AM1, the RMS deviation between experimental and calculated polarizabilities was reduced from 2.99 (using the original variational treatment) to 0.70 ų for the test set and from 2.81 to 0.40 ų for the training set. MNDO and PM3 gave similar improvements. ©1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem 75: 17–31, 1999